dull Silver
by Juleezy
Summary: He was just a knight in not-so-shining armor, saving the princess that would never be his. [AU; Cloti, Companion Piece to Loud Whisper.]


** -He was just a knight in not-so-shining armor, saving the princess that would never be his. **

_**Dull Silver**_

Cerulean blue eyes drooped closed, and a head full of golden hair rocked slowly from side to side as the owner of the two seemed to fall asleep. He couldn't help it. The shade was just too nice and tempting with its cool temperature and nice coverage of the sun, and the tree's branches seemed to call out to him as it stretched closer and closer as he had walked towards to it earlier.

There was nothing better than this during the unbearable sweltering heat of the big fireball in the sky coupled with the uncomfortable and thick, clunky armor he was required to wear. It was a precaution just in case he were to be stabbed or shot during her highness's lessons. How preposterous! He was a hired personal knight of the Lockharts, obviously having a talent for combat and dodging with great peripheral vision. That thought seemed to wake up the current state of the sloth-like man. His back laid nearly flat against the harsh trunk of the tree, one leg propped up to enable it to bend at the knee and a hand rested on top of the joint, leaving the other leg flat on the ground.

_Whoosh!_ He felt the tip of the arrow nearly grazing the side of his cheek, hitting the bare spot of the tree right next to his face. Accompanying that near shock, he heard the curses of the rotund archery teacher, who claimed to be quite a professional when boasting of his superior skills in front of the king. _What an idiot, _Cloud thought. All the pig seemed to want to do was stare at her derriere and bosom, nearly grazing the both as he "corrected her posture." Pish posh. Though the knight could admit that the disgusting creature of a man had excellent aim, most of it seemed to be merely based on luck instead of pure skill. Cloud had originally insisted on teaching her himself, but the king had proclaimed that he had too much on his plate already. _"Oh, no. You are doing such a fantastic job protecting my beautiful daughter already! You must rest more and relax, son!" _Huh, sure. His daughter was already skilled in swordsmanship and was now learning archery. What protection did she really need?

When Cloud's eyes refocused, he saw the woman in question looking at his deep blues with her saddening intense reds. Her expression seemed to say _save me_, but her current predicament was quite amusing to watch with her constant elbow jabbing and bow whacking. Whether it was accidental or intentional, he knew it was most definitely the latter. But when she continued to look at him with her unnaturally big eyes that seem to capture him from so far away, he simply gave in like he always did. _Weak. You're weak, Strife. _He tried to ignore the voice in his head but couldn't because he knew it was oh so true.

As he took slow, long strides to the two, lone figures in the vast yard, he thought of the time he had questioned her of her decision in combat. After all, not many princesses would actually request training in defense. 'Why did you want to learn swordsmanship and archery?' he had asked. 'I don't like feeling like a damsel in distress when I'm constantly around you, and for scaring away the many wooing suitors, of course,' she had replied with a wink. When questioned upon why she did not want to marry any of the rich, handsome, powerful men, she had left an enigma in his mind when her eyes found the ground suddenly interesting with a slight dusting of pink on her cheeks, accompanied by a shy smile gracing her lips.

When the curses of the vile man reached his ears louder and louder, Cloud knew he was at his destination. He couldn't help but think that the bright smile of the royal beauty that made the already sunny area much brighter was caused by him. Maybe, quite definitely. A small smile stealthily formed on his lips from the mere thought or from the act he was about to do. He preferred that it was the latter; he liked messing with men that had big sticks up their arses as if they were high, mighty, and important when they really had nothing in their ratty ol' sack.

"Excuse me, sir, but the king has requested me to tell you that your duties have been relieved as of now." The blond-haired man liked speaking in his authoritative tone because it made him sound so much more noble than he really was, but it still sounded foreign and irritating to his ears.

"Oh, really? Thank you very much, General Strife! I guess she was doing so well that I must have forgotten that I had nothing left to instruct, and you must have given the king quite an insight about how my talent seemed to flow towards her." Ahem, liar. You could really teach the bar patrons miles from the castle's quarters on how to take advantage of beautiful women. Cough, _a_ certain beautiful woman. Plus, he was pretty sure the instructor was too dumb enough to realize that a certain General Strife was watching them the whole time and was _never_ advised to report back to the king.

"Yes, of course. I'm sure her highness has quite superb skill in the fine arts of archery thanks to you." The unnecessarily smug look on the pig's face made Cloud want to punch himself in the face. Why were there an abundance of that man's kind in the world? Just why?

"Well, I best be going. It was nice to be acquainted with you, General." He bowed, though it was more of a nod with a lazy bend of the body. Probably was too much effort just to turn his attention towards the trained swordsman anyway. "And it was _very_ nice acquainting you as well, Princess." A nasty, wet kiss was placed to the delicate but strong hand of the lady. Cloud nearly snorted in amusement at the disgusted look on her face paired with the stiffness of her arm. Soon after, the repulsive man ran as fast as Cloud's mighty steed Fenrir. He didn't even know that was possible.

And now, he was all alone with the princess. Wait. Did he just mention that he was _alone_ with the very beautiful, very charming Tifa Lockhart, princess and daughter of the Lockharts? Oh, well, he decided to reiterate it just this once. He had to learn to get used to it though. With her being the tender age of 18, though it was a bit older than princesses that had already wed, she was not allowed the companionship of her friends often because of the many suitors that would come and try to woo her. Sometimes he would smugly think that he had all of her attention because she was constantly at his side, though he would ignore the fact that it was simply his job for her to not leave his sight. He wondered if seeing her constantly in his mind was a normal thing because he definitely didn't love or lust after her. Or it was probably a mix of both. Just a little bit.

"Cloud?" He turned around at his name, and his breath seem to catch at the startling sight. The dimming sun caught onto her hair and surrounded her with a glow while also enhancing the porcelain quality of her milky, white skin. Her natural beauty sang out to him, and it made him think of all the girls that could not cake on enough makeup to attain her beauty. He really needed to stop thinking like this; it was going to cost him his job sooner or later. Maybe his life, hers.

"Yes, your highness?" He stared at her blankly as she struggled to ask or tell him something. She absentmindedly twirled a chocolate strand around her finger as her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Can you...help me with this? I can't seem to aim and shoot correctly." During the short time he had known her, he had quickly interpreted her as one that would never seek for help unless needed. She must have been quite flustered to allow him to address her by that title, for she did not like hearing that from him. She'd always exclaimed, _Please, call me Tifa! T-I-F-A._

He simply nodded and came closer to her, gaining slight anxiety from the close proximity. He could smell a distinct flowery vanilla scent resonating from her, making his head feel slightly dizzy. Cloud lightly but firmly pressed his hand against her back, straightening it, and also massaged her shoulders a bit to relax and drop them. He then came a breath's away when his body lightly yet firmly pressed against hers, covering her small frame with his large. He made sure there was no tension in her body and that her feet were a shoulder's width apart. After backing away with a satisfied grunt, he allowed her to bring her arms up in the standard archer's pose.

"Relax and focus on your target," Cloud whispered lowly into her ear, unaware of the slight shiver slithering down her spine due to the husky quality his voice had gained. He felt her head nod against his chest and distanced himself away from her, losing the comfortable warmth they had just formed.

After a few mere seconds, the arrow was released and made a thud when it reached its intended target, the most inner ring of the practice structure. Simultaneously, he was surprised and not. Surprised because she managed to make a perfect shot in one try after his first instruction. Not surprised because this was the intelligent, overly competent Princess Tifa Lockhart. Though, surprise remained the dominant reaction when he suddenly felt a body thrown against him.

A pair of slim yet strong arms wrapped around his neck, a bountiful bosom pressed against his chest, and a warm breath was barely puffing against his bare lips. His heartbeat seemed to pace in an unnatural rate, and the hairs on the back of his neck seem to stand. Did she feel what he was currently feeling? She could probably feel his body tense up.

Cloud didn't realize that his eyes were closed the whole time until he opened them and glanced down, meeting the enigmatic gaze of smoldering caramel eyes. He felt her face inch closer towards his, her body pressed as if trying to diminish the already closed distance. Soon, her lashes lowered in a demure way, and the distance between their lips closed in a millisecond.

He felt awkward, not moving a hair as a pair of warm lips were pressed against his. He did not want to get fired, but he did not want a confusing relationship with the young lady that was his main priority either. This was dumb, he thought. Dumb because he shouldn't be pensive and have his thoughts wandering around when the most sought after female was offering a little bit of herself to him. And so he did something that he'd had always wanted to do right when his eyes first found hers.

He kissed her.

**x**

**april 11, 2013.**

**Okay, fellow fans and readers of Dull Silver! I have a companion piece/sequel entitled Loud Whisper. Check it out if you need more and remember to review, lovelies.**


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